LIV Golf stars forced to look elsewhere for major spots after Greg Norman slams world rankings

LIV Golf’s representation at this year’s major championships is set to be limited – with its members continuing to fall down the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR)

Several LIV Golf stars have chosen to participate in the Asian Tour’s International Series this week to gain crucial world ranking points ahead of the upcoming major tournaments. Although the breakaway league has experienced fast growth, it still lacks recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). As a result, LIV events have been held without the distribution of world ranking points, leading to many members of the league dropping in the rankings.

The Saudi-backed league may have a limited representation at major events due to the OWGR list’s significance in determining participants for the season.

They are currently awaiting authorization for ranking. Norman, the CEO of LIV, has been critical of the ranking system for the last two years and recently expressed his disapproval of the OWGR by calling it ‘laughable’, especially since the league’s players are not well-represented in the world’s top-50 players.

In an attempt to make progress, 20 LIV members are participating in the International Series Oman this week as part of the league’s partnership with the Asian Tour.

Included is one of LIV’s most in-form players in recently crowned Mayakoba champion Joaquin Niemann. He made the Saudi switch whilst ranked inside the top-20 players in the world, but now finds himself 81st in the ranking list.

This is not the first time the Chilean has opted to play his golf elsewhere in a bid to earn some much-needed OWGR points, after teeing it up on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia throughout December and January. This proved to be a worthy decision too, as Niemann was crowned Australian Open champion at the end of last year by defeating Rikuya Hoshino in a playoff.

LIV CEO Norman has been a critic of the ranking system over the past two years, and reignited his feud with the OWGR on Monday after describing the system as ‘laughable’ amid the lack of the league’s representation in the world’s top-50 players. In a bid to gain some movement in the right direction, 20 LIV members have entered this week’s International Series Oman in conjunction with the breakaway league’s partnership with the Asian Tour.

Included is one of LIV’s most in-form players in recently crowned Mayakoba champion Joaquin Niemann. He made the Saudi switch whilst ranked inside the top-20 players in the world, but now finds himself 81st in the ranking list.

This is not the first time the Chilean has opted to play his golf elsewhere in a bid to earn some much-needed OWGR points, after teeing it up on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia throughout December and January. This proved to be a worthy decision too, as Niemann was crowned Australian Open champion at the end of last year by defeating Rikuya Hoshino in a playoff.

Not only did the Torque GC star jump in the world rankings, but he also earned a spot at this summer’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. He then went on to turn his attention to the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he put in another impressive showing, finishing in a tie for fourth.

Speaking at the time, the Chilean admitted he has decided to venture elsewhere when the LIV schedule suits in a bid to battle into the world’s top-50 and earn a spot at April’s Masters. He told Mirror Sport in January: “It is pretty unfair right now what the world rankings shows. It says the top 100 players in the world right now, but I don’t think this is the right ranking…

“I am going to Dubai for the DP World [Tour] just because of [ranking] points, and to try and get into the Masters… Right now it is all about the best players and right now I think I am one of those, I have got to be in those majors.

I made the decision to join LIV knowing that it would be difficult to qualify for major tournaments.

However, I believe there should be an opportunity for us to compete in these events, which is why I am participating in more tournaments besides LIV Golf. Another member of LIV competing in Oman is David Puig, who recently secured his spot in the Open.

This Spanish golfer, who is also a teammate of Sergio Garcia, will be participating in the Asian Tour for the second consecutive week, following his participation in the Malaysian Open last week.

Puig, like Niemann, had a successful trip away. He was crowned champion in Malaysia and earned a spot at Royal Troon in July. In September 2022, Puig decided to go pro and join the LIV setup.

He has secured two wins in his last five starts on the Asian Tour.